from the seat-of-your-pants dept.The Next Wave, by Michael Fitzgerald in the July 2002 Issue of Business 2.0, tells how startup Nano-Tex uses 10 nm-long nanowhiskers to make cloth too dense for liquids to penetrate, but still soft enough to wear:

Forget all the futuristic hype about subatomic robots. Nanotechnology is already here, and Burlington CEO George Henderson is using it to save the U.S. textile industry from extinction (and your pants from Beaujolais).

An informative sidebar lists nanotechnology products now available or in development. Founded about four years ago, Nano-Tex was the subject of a Dec. 27 2000 Nanodot post.

my reasoning is this: azbesto fibers are not chemically active. actually their inertness is what makes them a good fire-proof material. but all the same they are a major carcinogen.

why ? one theory is because they produce micro-wounds in the lungs, which leaves scar-tissue, which wound again … and scar tissue is highly cancer prone (a scar is essentially a region of irregular growth).

I see no reason why nano-fibers when inhaled will not cause the same mechanism. It's also very probable that the lungs' cleaning up mechanisms will find nanofibers harder to clean up than normal fibers.

So until a long-term research that confirms or denies this is done, I advise anyone working with nanotubes to work with breathing masks.

I definately wouldn't advise making clothes of the stuff, except for special purposes.

‘Percenta Nano Textile & Leather Sealant’ is a water and oil resistant impregnator for textiles and paper. The product develops an almost invisible film on the surface around the fibres. Through the water resisting effect, the absorbance of water and stains of; for example, soot, coffee or red wine, will be reduced.

‘Percenta Nano Textile & Leather Sealant’ is dry cleaning resistant.

Our ‘Nano Textile & Leather Sealant’ surrounds every fibre with an anti adhesion coating. As a result, dry dirt cannot adhere to the material and liquid cannot be soaked up by the fibres. Water, coffee, red wine and fatty substances are repelled from the treated textiles. Even excessive soiling can be removed easily and without a trace. Leather, backpacks, marquees, sunshades etc are cleaned in the rain.

Furthermore, ‘Percenta Nano Leather & Textile’ coated fibres are completely harmless to skin. The product is free from alcohols, water based and environmentally friendly.

‘Percenta Nano Leather & Textile’ is also water resistant on materials in daily use, which as a result remain drier for longer. Oil, coffee and other stains belong to the past after a treatment with ‘Percenta Nanotechnology Textile & Leather’.

This innovative fibre protection, based on nanotechnology, protects your clothes against water, dirt and stains – and stays invisible! It does not affect the look, texture, breathability or colour and it’s easy to use. Ironing also does not affect our ‘Percenta Nano Leather & Textile’.

Correct me if I am wrong, but, my over-seas sources have advised me the Percenta Nano Textile & Leather Sealant is a silicone or siloxane based product. If this is true how can they call their treatments Nanotechnology, when it is nothing more than just another chemical coating with the buzz word “Nanotechnology” taped to the sales pitch.
Yes, my company deals with a Nanotechnology Smart Surface Treatment for textiles, however, our treatments work by restructuring the surface at the molecular level by way of nano-particles. the treated substrate still breaths instead of seals but will repel liquids and resist stains.

I only post this comment do to a prosepctive client in Denmark looking for a price quote to distribute our Auto Glass Treatments. He wanted me to meet the insulting low price of the chemical treatments currently being mass marketed in his region, not realizing you get what you pay for. The price for true Nanotechnology Smart Surface Treatments is much higher than the glorified chemical coatings with the Buzzword “Nanotechnology” tagged onto it.

What’s next, Nano-Cat Food to ensure your cat does not get constipated if he/she eats to much fur?

dear sir
iama student of material science & tech(M.TECH) at jadavpur university kolkata,(india). i have done my B.TECH in leather technology .i want to carry a research in effect of nanotechnology in leather how could i do that please guide me. i think i have complete qualification .to do that.
thank u
risin dey

sir,
i am Anju from Surat studying be in e&ce
i am very much intrested in doing ms in nanotech plz guide me as to which institute offering Ms in nanotech .
Iam interested in Textile technology, My father and all my family mambers are related to Surat Textile business. I want to get mastership in this field. Since Surat is a well known place for Textile, I think I can get better opportunity to experiment with this.